Destiny 2 Hunters baffled by senseless Young Ahamkara’s Spine nerf
Bungie has revealed Young Ahamkara’s Spine is getting nerfed in Destiny 2’s upcoming mid-season patch and Hunter mains are not impressed by how the changes will impact PvE.
The Crucible’s meta is always evolving with new, reworked, and nerfed Exotics constantly coming and going. Take ST0MP-EE5 for example which went from a top-tier Hunter Exotic to a niche pick most don’t care practically overnight.
After ST0MP-EE5’s decline, it was Young Ahamkara’s Spine – often referred to as YAS – that took its place. YAS has thrived in recent seasons establishing itself as the best Hunter PvP Exotic in Destiny 2.
However, that run is coming to an end with the following Young Ahamkara’s Spine nerfs confirmed for the Season 22 mid-season update:
- Reduced the Tripmine Grenade’s bonus health from 100 to 70 and removed the bonus 50% damage resistance.
- Grenade energy is now provided on ability kills instead of damage with abilities.
YAS PvE nerfs haven’t gone down well with Destiny 2 players
In the October 5 TWID, Bungie stated it was nerfing YAS to bring its total bonus grenade energy more in line with other Solar Exotics. The developer named Athrys’s Embrace and Caliban’s Hand as examples of where it wants YAS to be.
Referencing the TWID, one Guardian argued: “This comparison makes no sense since Knock’em Down exists for full melee refund. The more apt comparison would be Ashen Wake, but Titans have access to Roaring Flames, so they have the damage ramp up to get lots of easy kills with their abilities…”
Others were quick to agree: “Yeah I laughed at this when I saw it… like oh we just homogenizing the exotics now? Guess you may as well use whatever one you want since Bungies making them all the same now.”
“Literally every complaint about this niche ass exotic is from pvp (rightfully so), yet they’ve proven countless times that they can’t nerf an exotic effectively without butchering it in PVE (I don’t believe it’s completely butchered just much worse now),” another player replied wondering why PvE was targeted.
Not everyone took issue with all the changes, although the consensus was still that some weren’t necessary: “So the health and DR nerf is a good thing, little sh*ts have more health than a guardian. The energy refund change is stupid and [Bungie] should feel bad for doing that.”
Although it’s impossible to say exactly what impact the Young Ahamkara’s Spine nerf will have it’s certain to reduce its effectiveness. What is already a niche PvE Exotic will likely fall into obscurity as Hunters look for more competitive alternatives.